Devil May Cry: ADAM
by Zany Blac
Summary: This is a story about Dantes revenge, a team of devil hunters, the ressurection of vergil and the most powerful demon in the underworld. Hope you guys will enjoy reading as much as i enjoyed writing this story, Please R&R so i can upload more...
1. Mission 1: Quick silver

**Disclaimer: I Donot Own Devil May Cry**

** Devil May Cry**

PROJECT A.D.A.M.

Mission 1: Quick Silver

"Assail the Light Footed Fiend"

It was already night time as he walked through the Neon Lit streets of the city, he could not help but scornfully pity the humans he passed, "humans" he thought, "so vain and arrogant" he reflected, smiling as if remembering a joke.

He watched them laughing and chattering away going about with their so called night life, some going into movie theatres, clubs, bars and restaurants. The streets were all filled, "Yet so weak and ignorant" he said to himself shaking his head with a grin.

The people he passed could sense the subtle aura around him and found his black eyes a little bit disconcerting; the whites of his eyes were also the same black color that made a clashing contrast with the hood of his knee length silver jacket. Those unfortunate to make eye contact whenever he raised his head to take a break from his thoughts got as far away from him as possible…

Not that he cared…

Well most of them anyway, the insufferable woman with the glasses had been following him for a while now and just wouldn't let him be, he knew he was good looking but it was getting a bit tiring constantly being ogled at and stalked by silly human girls.

He inclined his head a little to catch a glimpse of her again, she was indeed a fine one for a human, she wore a short brown skirt that complimented her long legs which were half concealed behind knee length brown boots and her white top was slightly opened to reveal cleavage which a human male would have found enticing, she wore dark brown glasses in the night which he found very odd.

She momentarily became obscured by a group of people passing in front of her as he crossed the street, searching the crowd for her his hood slipped a little to reveal slicked back raven black hair, she was still following him… "Very odd looking purse" he thought eyeing the long cylindrical bag behind her then turned around and pulled his hood down…

"Women and their fashion… classic",

Snapping out of this often frequented reverie for the umpteenth time he came to a halt and looked around "damn her now I'm lost" he said out loud irritably in a voice that was startlingly deep yet lacking any bass with a suppressed accent, the woman was starting to annoy him and realizing he was becoming tense he reached for the ring tied to his neck on a silver chain, tapping it thoughtfully against his chest looking right and left on the side walk for the way to where he was going while people passed and horns blared in the streets.

The woman stopped to stare at the silver ring almost sparkling white against the black vest he was wearing, he caught sight of her staring and gave her a look that one would give a persistent cat,smiled then kissed the ring and put it under his vest, its importance alleviating his irritation for the time being and besides he needed to be calm for his mission, even though it was a relatively simple one.

He took a turn off the street as he finally reached a suburban looking part of the city that's housed a collection of low storied duplexes and a few mansions' here and there. It seemed people were avoiding this part of town either because it was dark or majority of the inhabitants where already in for the night.

"Ah good" he smiled walking down a cobbled path toward a large building with the woman still in tow a couple of feet behind him,

"Now to get rid of this insufferable groupie"

Just as he was about to turn around the mansion he was facing made him stop and stare.

They were in front of an abandoned looking mansion with a huge clearing where the entrance should have been, almost like some unimaginable force blew away the wrought iron gate, tearing his gaze away from the gate he turned and looked at woman who had been following him.

"look, I'm sorry but I'm really not interested" he said looking at her but Lady just smirked and tugged off the odd looking purse from behind her and pointed it at him, this gesture struck him as very odd.

"Just what kind of stalker…"

But he was cut off abruptly as a rocket came hurtling at him from that odd bag of hers which turned out to be a rocket launcher, instinctively he raised his right hand and made a gun sign pointing it at the rocket.

It stopped just inches away from his finger.

Cocking his thumb and making a upward jerking movement with his hand as if shooting the rocket, it slowly turned and zoomed towards Lady but with her acrobatic bordering on feline agility she easily somersaulted away and the rocket hit the narrow walls of the path they followed blocking it…

"What's the meaning of this" he asked Lady calmly for someone who had just been shot at.

Dropping to the ground gracefully Lady pulled out her dual pistols from their side holsters and started walking slowly towards him…

"Don't like gunpowder demon?" Lady asked in a sweet mocking voice…"why don't I make it up to you"

This statement made him stop and stare at her as the tell tale of lighting was preceded by a grumble of thunder.

"Who are you calling a demon babe?" he asked his voice dripping with ill disguised contempt that clearly showed his irritation.

This made lady very angry, she hated being called babe.

Lady had enough of that word from one devil in particular and she would be damned if she was going to take it from this demon, she jumped in the air firing her guns at him but the bullets all stopped midair and dropped before hitting him,

He started towards her and jumped in the air only to jump again on thin air dashing towards her leaving a silver streak where he was before and caught her by the arm, lady gasped momentarily but kicked him in the stomach stunning him and she dropped to the ground immediately pulling out her submachine guns.

But he had vanished.

Without warning he appeared in front of her pinning her hands above her head,

And their eyes met.

Lady slackened against her will and stared at him with her mouth slightly open in a dazed expression…

"You would be such a babe if only you weren't trying to kick my butt" he said staring at her clearly for the first time and noticing her different eye colors but instead of being a blemish they somehow increased her allure.

Lady felt as if she her limbs were made of stone, she could not move and her thoughts came sluggishly, it was as if some hypnotic power existed within his eyes…

"Now that we are all cozy" he said smiling with the knowledge of the effect his eyes had on her

"Why was I being shot at?"

"You're a demon… I kill demons" lady replied in a faraway voice, at being mistaken for a demon yet again he rolled his eyes not that one would realize his eyes had rolled but this broke the spell on Lady who finally had enough strength to pull away from him and her vacant look was replaced by the hate filled stare she saved only for demons.

With a snarl she pushed him away and they were standing face to face.

It had started raining…

"For a demon who dresses so gangsta, you have no guns" she smirked observing his long baggy jeans and noticing the elongated broad sword strapped behind him,

"Compensating are we?" Lady smiled eyeing the sword and then without warning she dashed and jumped towards him aiming a roundhouse kick but with the same speed he showed before he mirrored her movement his short white boots meeting ladies knee length red ones and they struck quite a sight in midair both with a flying kick hitting each other's soles.

This demon was clearly far stronger than she thought.

The contact sent her crashing into a wall as he floatingly landed on his feet…

"Guns?" he scoffed,

"I wouldn't be much of a gentleman putting a bullet in your head now, would I?" he asked with increased irritation,

"Damn her" he thought,

He was straying from his mission and even though the distraction was cute one to say the least it was time to end this.

Moving towards lady he was surprised to see that she made no move to get up and continue fighting,

This made him stop for a minute and a knowing smile crept upon the sides of his mouth

"Giving up already? We were just getting to know each other" he said looking at her but lady smirked sitting sprawled by the destroyed wall,

"Yes it is such a shame you have to die" she said raising her leg almost seductively and pointing to something behind him with her boot smiling…

"You should watch your back you know…"

He whipped around and his hood came off,

His boots making a splash in the puddles formed by the rain making water splash on the silver symbol that was on the right leg of his black baggy jeans just in time to dodge a ferocious slash from a sword to face another… this time a man with platinum hair and a big sword like his…

"So Lady, Having fun alone are we?"

"But wait, is he something else?" He thought eyeing the newcomer.

His right hand was odd,

It was hidden beneath his sleeve and the hand was gloved, but the demonic power he could sense from it was something else on its own. His attention lingered on this new comers arm for a second…

Could this be Dante?

He immediately dismissed the notion as soon as it occurred,

This one looked too young to be the legendary demon hunter he heard so much about.

For a moment Lady and Nero both stood stared,

His hood completely came off as he turned and dodged the slash from the Red Queen, he was abnormally good looking and this was enhanced by his androgynous face, with brown skin that reminded one of Native Americans.

Nero's familiar smirk returned and he stuck the Red Queen on the ground revving it

"So, who's your date?" Nero asked lady with another perfectly timed Instant Rev of his sword making the entire blade glow bright red

"Careful Nero… I have never seen one like it" warned lady,

At this the stranger turned around with an indignant look.

"Just who are you calling it?" he asked,

Lady just smiled in an innocent school girl way slowly getting up and walking towards him with her machine guns in her hands,

But he had had enough…

"I would love to fight your boyfriend here" he said turning his back on Lady who saw the same symbol that was on the leg of his jeans now on the back of his silver jacket in green.

He gave Nero an appraising look as if sizing him up,

"But I don't have the time…" he said still looking a Nero, "perhaps next time bro" he smiled dashing towards him so fast Nero didn't even have time to raise his sword as he was knocked backwards clutching his stomach,

Only a faint streak of silver remained where what Lady and Nero could now safely assume to be a devil stood.

Lady rushed to Nero's side holding his side and knelt down beside him.

"Hang in there let's get you back" she said at the same time looking around warily for the devil until a flash of silver caught her attention and she saw a figure on top of the mansions roof.

He saw her looking smiled, clipped his sword back on his belt behind him and pulled down his hood covering his face once more, taking a run towards the edge of the roof he dashed upwards leaving a streak of silver then with an air trick he disappeared into the night.

Dante meanwhile was sitting in his office, Reading.


	2. Mission 2: Books And Blades

Mission 2: Books and Blades…

"Bring To Light an Inconvenient Truth"

Sitting on the chair behind the desk at Devil May Cry with a slice of pizza seemingly forgotten in one hand, and a frown of forced concentration etched on his face, Dante was doing something he found as mind numbing as it was a complete waste of time.

He was reading a book.

A big boring one at that, nothing like the magazines he usually read.  
'hmm this is interesting…' thought Dante with a frown, a picture of someone clearly not enjoying what it was that he was finding interesting. Unconsciously he began reciting out the contents of the page to himself.

"Possesses soulless eyes and has command of all forms of metal…" the rest was muffled by the pizza in his mouth. He looked down at the slice, surprised at how it got to his mouth from his hand, shrugged, and dropped the book beside his trusted guns, Ebony and Ivory, on the table.

Pushing back on his chair and propping his legs on the table, he proceeded to munch the pizza leisurely. "Never was a fan of books with big words," he sighed.  
'This is normally the dork slayers' area of expertise,' he thought, chuckling at the memory of a time when the only quest he had, was to stop a certain someone from keeling over from lack of sleep, reading awfully long books.

"The nerd," Dante muttered, "seems like a lifetime ago…"

He turned to the person reclined gracefully on the sofa by the far right side of the table against the wall. "I never studied and look how I turned out." said Dante.

Trish looked over at Dante and could not suppress the smile that tugged at her lips.  
"Yes I presume brawn is the rage these days," she said, shifting herself into a more comfortable position, looking at Dante who had dropped the thick book in favour of one of his usual magazines.

"Might be bland, but it gets the job done." Dante replied, his face hidden behind the magazine.

"Pizza?" he asked, kicking the table top with his heel, sending the box spinning gracefully and landing open on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Trish sat up and opened the box, taking out a slice. "Nice! Seafood is my favourite. Why don't you order sausage anymore?" she asked, lying back down on the sofa and taking a thoughtful bite. She looked up to see Dante staring innocently at her with a tell tale of a smile curling the sides of his mouth.

The look always put Trish on her guard.

It meant that Dante had something up his sleeve, other than when they played poker, that look never bode anything good.

"Alright spit it out, Dante," said Trish standing up from the sofa and perching herself on the edge of the table. "What is it this time?" she asked with a smile that betrayed a hint of accusation.

"What, you just look nice today," he said, innocently parting his hands but a sly smile had crept on to the lines of his mouth. He decided not to tell her anyway, she would find out soon enough, that is if Lady was up to it.

Dante picked up the book he was reading and handed it to her. "If what this book says is true and we have seen the signs," he said, growing a bit serious, "We should get ready".

Trish was slightly confused for a minute, and then her face was a mixture of relief and exasperation, and she could not help smiling. "Annoying and charming as usual," she said, shifting slightly on the table.

She flipped open the book and started brushing through…

"He has not been seen for about ten years to the day now, the rarest and most vicious devil. He is simply known as the fallen. He was hunted down and eliminated by the army of Mundus, because he preyed on other demons, and committed such atrocities which would strike you deaf if you where to hear half of" (At this Dante rolled his eyes but Trish didn't notice) "though he did not go quietly. Mundus suffered heavy losses and about all but his supreme generals were destroyed in the battle against the fallen."

"Some of those generals you have met of course," added Trish.

She got up and went to inspect the sword Sparda, where it was hanging on the wall behind the desk. "He is also responsible for the underworld circle of Mundus in the demon world turning into what it is now, desolate and barren." said Trish, counting the facts off her fingers. Dante appeared to be in deep thought, still in a reclined position with the chair creaking in protest of his weight. He was holding something that made Trish stop in surprise.

Dante had the perfect amulet in his hand.

Trish could not remember the last time she saw it, but nevertheless the sight of it filled her with a kind of foreboding, especially since the subject they were discussing would soon bring them to another she had been avoiding.

"A single demon deemed so dangerous that he had a whole demonic circle of hell turn against him… For the greater good," Dante mused thoughtfully.

"How was he defeated exactly?" asked Dante, finally speaking out and interrupting Trish's reprieve. Her usual feline composure somewhat tensed at this question, but Dante took no notice because he was still staring at the amulet absent minded.

Trish wasn't sure what effect this answer would have on Dante, it was a question she hoped she would never have to answer in light of certain events.

Trish did not know how he would react to it but he must know sooner or later… "Mundus created the ultimate devil to battle the forces of the fallen and gave him a Legendary Devil Arm, said to have come from the soul of Ultima," she said, watching Dante closely, but he merely looked at her as a sign to carry on. "Possessing the ability to combine the powers of light and darkness, this knight led the army of Mundus to battle and sealed away the fallen, and his three seneschals in the circle of the underworld called Butryka, another word for…"

"The Fires Hell." finished Dante.

He was sitting normally by now, hands by his side and legs under the table, listening intently, "It's odd, how come I have never heard about this devil? The one who rallied the troops and beat this fallen guy," asked Dante, looking at Trish, "you mentioned a Devil Arm, does it have a name?"

Trish looked at Dante and he looked back, a sort of understanding passed between them as his clear blue eyes and her electric blue ones met.

"You have met the devil, Dante. The devil arm was the ZweilHandler." finished Trish quietly, looking at Dante. The moment the words left her lips, Dante snapped out of his chair.

"You knew this all along?" said Dante.  
Trish wished he was angry but the tone of his voice held more disappointment than anger, "I never thought it was relevant, Dante," said Trish, but the only reply from Dante was a look Trish thought wasn't possible, with the rarely serious and overbearingly jovial Devil Hunter.

An uncomfortable silence ensued.

Dante went over and picked up a guitar case that housed his sword Rebellion from where it was reclined on a wall, and Trish drew back involuntarily. The movement did not escape Dante, whose face softened as he placed the case on his back.

"I'm going out." He said without looking at Trish, and picked up Ebony and Ivory from the table.

"Dante please wait," began Trish, trying to hold his hand when he walked past her out the door, but all she was able to grab was the hem of his red coat as it flapped past her. The door was shut before she could speak.

"There is more…" said Trish feebly.

The door opened a moment later and Lady walked in with Nero.  
"Is there any pizza?" asked Nero, eyeing the half empty box on the table.  
"What did you do to him?" asked Lady with a note of accusation in her voice that brought a glare from Trish. Nero looked from one woman to the other for a moment, and shrugged.

Women.

He plopped himself on the sofa and grabbed a pizza slice.  
"It's been a while since I have seen Dante that serious," added Lady, sitting down and grabbing a slice herself before turning to Nero. "You sure you are okay?" asked Lady, prodding Nero's chest.

"I'm fine." said Nero, wriggling away from her fingers. "If you wanted to touch, all you have to do is ask," he added slyly, causing Lady to punch him affectionately on the shoulder.  
"Dante is a bad influence on you," said Lady, but she wasn't that annoyed. Nero was getting more and more like the annoying little brother she never had.

"What did you say is more, Trish?" Lady asked.

Trish who had been quietly staring off into space as Lady was poking Nero, snapped out of it and told them what had transpired between Dante and her. She conveniently neglected mentioning the devil and devil arm.

Lady and Nero looked at each other then stared at their feet, partly at a loss for words and not wanting to say they were out done by a de…

Well it damn sure wasn't a human…

"Well you see, I attacked something like the Fallen you were talking about," said Lady rather sheepishly.

"And he wiped the floor with both of us," added Nero, more to himself than to the others.

"Well that's not surprising because he is… " began Lady.

"Incredibly fast and powerful just like…" Nero cut in.

"Dante." finished Trish thoughtfully.

"Did he have any sort of symbol in his attire?" asked Trish, causing Lady to choke on her pizza. "Like a sword overlapping a cross?" added Trish, directing her question at Nero as Lady got up to get a drink.

"Yes he did, come to think of it, on the right leg of his pants and on the back of his…"Nero said.

"Silver jacket." finished Trish, winning a surprised glance from Nero.

"How the hell did you…"

"If I am to understand what you are saying," said Trish, cutting him off, "Then we may not be alone in this after all." Trish continued when Lady came back from the kitchen and resumed her seat. "But the fallen are about to return and they are coming to the human world," said Trish turning to looking at both of them, "We are going to need all the help we can get."

Lady and Nero exchanged startled looks.

Turning to face Trish they both simultaneously asked, "What!"

She had been waiting patiently in the shadows of the alleyway across the street from Devil May Cry for Dante to come out of his shop; now that he did she saw what everyone had been saying about him.

Although he was wearing a frown she could sense his laid back and carefree nature as she had been told.

Not even the son of the Dark Knight Sparda could hide his feelings from her.

Rebellion, the physical manifestation of his power, was inside a guitar case that was strapped to his back. This told her he wasn't careless, it was probably because he wouldn't need the sword to take out half the circles of hell.

Dante had nothing to fear.

She admired his confidence, walking down the streets not even bothering to be on his guard, but she was momentarily awed by the only surviving half demon in existence. He had taken the very emperor of hell head on and been superior not only in combat but in possession of pure untainted power, fought countless other monstrosities among them, even defeating the conqueror of the fire hell.

No, this was not a devil to take lightly.

Dante looked left and then right. After a moment of consideration he turned left and started walking down the street.

'He would have been the perfect soul,' she thought but she knew that taking the Devil hunter's soul was impossible. Even with her considerable strength and demonic power she would be a mere twig in her attempt at his opposition.

"Cain will have to do," she said to herself, in a breathy voice that would twine the love strings of any man's heart, as she watched Dante's retreating figure. With a sigh that sounded full of longing and desire, she turned her head away from the front door of Devil May Cry to the other side of the alleyway.

A group of men wandered into the opposite entrance of the alleyway, taking seemingly unsteady and unbalanced steps as they took swigs from bottles that they kept passing among themselves. The smell of the bottle's contents wafted to her through the breeze and her mouth twitched from beneath her hood in distaste.

"Distasteful swine" she thought turning away from them and walking towards the exit of the alleyway.

"Hey baby!" called a blonde haired one missing a few teeth, "why don't you get rid of that robe and join us?" he asked in a drunken slur, taking a swig out of the bottle he was holding, causing the others to jeer and catcall in delight. Some of them started chanting 'take it off' but they were too drunk to keep it up.

Her body was the kind that always stands out despite what she was wearing, even though the cloak concealed every part of her body, and the hood covered her face but for her mouth.

Disregarding their drunken state she found the catcalling disrespectful for a devil of her calibre. She turned around, arms folded, facing the group as 'Blondie' seeing her still standing quickly muttered a few words to the two men nearest to him, and they both nodded and ran out the alley.

"Decided to stick around now, did ya?" asked 'Blondie' with a snigger. "Why don't I stroke that coat of yours?" he said, walking towards her with his group in tow.

A smirk stole across her mouth.

Watching them approach, she put her hands into her cloak and brought out two slightly elongated and thin bladed Falchions. Seeing the swords the group stopped, eyeing the weapons wearily.

"Scared?" she asked, her sultry voice coming out from beneath her hood as she playfully traced lines on the ground with her blades, causing sparks to fly off the ground as a midnight blue aura shimmered around her.

Now had the drunks been even a tad sober and not completely wasted, they would have had the common sense to back away or right out run, but they were too drunk to notice the demonic energy that charged the air.

"Little knives like tha aren't gonna scare us girlie" said Blondie with a gleam in his eye as he unsheathed a long knife from his coat. The others followed suit with broken bottles, chains and metal pipes. "You don't right go and make us mad now girlie," rumbled 'Blondie', "after we beat ya, then we will have some fun with you." he said and the others roared. She heard the clink of bottles smashing behind her as the two others finally made it to other side of the alleyway.

"Get her boys!" Blondie shouted. With a roar, they started towards her.

She watched them running towards her and heard the others coming from behind, just as Blondie got to her…

It all happened very quickly.

There was a blinding flash of very dark blue and suddenly there were two of her instead of one. Blondie wondered if it was the booze or him as sound of sword slashes rent the air.

As quickly as their shouting started an abrupt silence struck, as one by one the men fell around her. Smirking slightly, she wiped her blades on the leaders' clothes. Her Doppelganger walked back into her and she set off towards the end of the alley, and took a left. Enough fun for one day, she still had Dante to follow.

Dante was impervious to the city and its sights as he walked along the streets. It was already dark by the time he left his shop, and the city he lived in was an overwhelming if not breathtaking sight when it was in the full swing of its night life.

The sky scrapers were looking like pillars of light, making the buildings look alive. The adverts on the sides of some of them were flashing and it gave each building a different personality; an advert for a sports car on the side of a building made of slick black marble, a white tiled building with a black and white picture of a male and a female model showing off a perfume.

Then a further away a granite building with no windows had the name 'UROBOROS' printed on its highest floor.

Even a very large screen on another skyscraper that was seemingly made of glass was showing a soccer match that Dante had been looking forward to watching. But even that coupled with the noise of car horns blaring, and people chattering as they went about, did nothing to rouse Dante from his thoughts.

He could not understand why that particular subject always bothered him.

He was too macho to open up to Lady about it, especially since he had cried in front of her once. A subject that despite Dante's threats and sometimes pleas tended to crop up at the most awkward of times; the latest when he was trying to ask out a model and Lady seemingly dropped out of nowhere and mentioned it, causing him to be the giggling subject among the women as he made his exit.  
'You're gonna pay for that very soon Lady,' thought Dante with a smile, as he crossed the road towards a side of the street that housed the clubs and bars of the city.

On the other hand there was the kid.

'No, never the kid,' thought Dante with vigour, appalled at the thought of opening up his feelings and emotions to Nero. He saw what the fan girls of videogame characters wrote, it had spoiled the image of some of his favourite games when he read some of that Yaio stuff on the internet, by mistake. He had been jittery that whole day, even yelling at Trish for asking how much sausage he wanted on the pizza and he could not imagine what to say.

He was a videogame character.

And that was something he clearly wasn't. Dante dreaded to think what those fan girls would have written about him and Nero…

Or worse.

Dante shuddered.

Despite the fact that his brother was a power hungry psycho, he was the only family he had remaining, and he honoured that by sending him straight to hell, thought Dante as he continued walking down the streets. He went past various clubs that emitted a blast of rock music whenever their doors opened to let someone in.

He spent a few happy moments remembering all the fun they had when they were kids, from exploring the mansion they lived in to their constant misdemeanours.

Dante was still lost in his thoughts when he approached a club that he had grown fond of over the years, because of its 'Unusual' customers, and being his source of information mainly regarding the happenings of the circles of the demon world.

As he was about to go through the doors, a hooded figure in black step towards it too.

The figure was a woman for sure and she was quite a sight, probably about five foot seven, and as Dante liked describing her type of body, busty at the right seams. Dante stopped and allowed her to pass through the door first.

He was a gentle man after all.

The figure nodded slightly in appreciation and went in with Dante following behind. The doors closed silently behind him, despite the amicable chatter and music coming from the club, the humans on the street that passed by took no notice of the club. Almost as if they could not see it.

Dante returned several greetings from the various people in the club. A group of dog headed demons wearing mobster suits and playing poker at a table near the window, raised their glasses in salute to him. A group of pale looking ethereal women with abnormal endowments sitting in a darkened corner filled with plush sofas and pink smoke, looked at him seductively and made beckoning signs.  
"Whoa, ladies, you would probably eat me up," said Dante, which brought sighs of disappointment from them. (As they would have probably eaten him seeing as they were man-eaters, she-devils that well... eat men).

The club was doused in a warm red glow from the lights with the hazy look accustomed to night clubs; a result of smoke and other concoctions.

The atmosphere was the usual, quiet but littered with the sounds of talking in groups while music played lightly in the background, thus enabling people to talk without being overheard or being disturbed by the music. This suited Dante well on those days he just wanted to enjoy a strawberry sundae alone.

"Yep, my kinda place," said Dante as he made his way to the bar.

He met a tall glass brimming with a Strawberry Sundae with a vanilla fudge mix topping and a cherry on top.

"What would I do without you, Amon?" Dante jokingly asked the portly man in front of him as he picked up a spoon.

"A sugar deprived killing spree," replied Amon with a fatherly smile. He was a short round man with bushy hair and a moustache to match in his human form, but Dante had no idea what this devil looked like in his true form.

An image of Amon in a Santa costume somehow always popped into his head when he thought of it.

"I'll have one of those too." A sultry feminine voice came from the seat next to his. Dante hardly noticed who he sat next to but now that he did, he realized it was the same hooded figure that he met at the doorway.

She was sitting comfortably on the bar stool, one leg over the other, and Dante caught sight of the smoothest thigh he had ever seen.

And man had he seen his share of thighs.

"Right away, madam," said Amon with a courteous bow, and left to prepare another Strawberry sundae.

"Never thought of you as much of a sweet tooth, swords master," she said, eyeing Dante from beneath her hood.

"Everybody has a weak spot," replied Dante with his usual smile, "Mine's ice cream and killing demons… you?" he asked, taking a generous gulp of his sundae.

"Pretty much the same… Anna," she replied, pulling back her hood and holding out her hand.

Anna was unnaturally beautiful, even for a demon of her kind; she had big dark brown eyes, full red lips, black silky hair, and a very fair complexion accentuating her smooth skin and ample figure.

Dante had a momentary inner struggle with himself for a few seconds, trying to push away the creeping carnal thoughts caused by her beauty.

The group of Man-eaters looked across the room jealously at the woman who had Dante's attention, but even they were enthralled. While everything ranging from the people sitting to the portraits and the wild demon heads nailed on the wall as prize kills (Mostly… alright all Dante's work) in the room were captivated by her.

Dante smiled and took her hand. "Succubus? If I am to guess correctly?" he asked looking at her.  
"Your instinct remains as good as ever," she replied.

"I thought you high class folk don't mingle with the likes of us?" asked Dante, waving his hand around the club. Anna smiled, about to reply, but she was interrupted by Amon, arms slightly wobbling with nerves as he carried a glass brimming with ice cream.

Amon put down the glass in front of Anna and bowed deeply. It was not every day that he served such a high class demon in this club.

"Anything else for her ladyship?" asked Amon with renewed courtesy, and another deep bow so low it threatened to topple him over.

"Your services are excellent, bar man," she smiled, thanking him.

"Your humility can be easily mistaken for jest, even among the likes of us you are honoured high." said Anna, giving Dante a calm, calculated look as she turned back to face him.

'What game is this Devil playing?' thought Dante for he was finding it hard to read her and as far as poker faces go, Anna would put any card counter to shame.

Anna took Dante's silence as an invitation for her to continue; she twirled her spoon playfully on the rim of her glass then scooped up some ice cream.

"I am on the hunt," she said after taking a helping of her sundae.

"It's already that time of the year," said Dante, though he still wasn't fully convinced that the hunt was Anna's real motive.

"Who's the unlucky demon?" he asked, recalling that a sacrificial soul of certain power was required for a succubus to transcend to her next plane of existence.

Not that this form had any deficiencies in Dante's eyes.

But he knew for a fact that this type of demon was even more power hungry than a certain oriental sword wielding maniac he knew.

'Perhaps Lady has a fraction of succubus in her family tree' wondered Dante with a smile at the thought of how Lady would react to the suggestion.

He had fought a full grown succubus before. Anna was yet to unlock her real form but he could sense great power within her.

This was no mere half grown succubus.

"Not a demon, a devil," said Anna "Goes by the name of Cain. He has garnered quite a reputation back home."

"Sounds impressive." said Dante. "Shouldn't you be hunting demons like the other succubus? Besides this Cain should be in the demon world, no?"

"He lives in the human world, like you," replied Anna, ignoring Dante's question.

"He was last seen somewhere near the The Order of the Sword's fortress looking for something… I need him." she finished. There was an underlying hunger and desire in her tone even though her voice remained even and unchanged.

Dante felt for the poor guy but his question still wasn't answered. "Does this have anything to do with me?" asked Dante nonchalantly, but he was beginning to like the idea less by the minute. But sensing she was holding out on something he decided to see it through.

"I can lead you to something which you badly want, but you do not know of it yet." Anna replied casually, as if commenting on the taste of the ice cream, before taking another helping from her sundae.

"Trust me, son of Sparda. This is something you would kill for."

Elsewhere, Cain was staring at a snow covered bridge…


	3. Mission 3: Omnipotent Remains

Mission 3: Omnipotent remains?

"Capture the Secret of Fortuna Castle"

In a burst of silver, Cain landed blade in hand with precision on an archway at the foot of an ice covered bridge. Still crouching on the archway, he observed the surrounding area of a castle-like fortress.

"Seems fortified on the outside," he said, his mouth twitching into a smile as it was the only part visible beneath his hood.

He jumped off the arch and landed on the opening of the bridge. "Let's hope they weren't compensating," he said, unclipping his sword from behind him.

He set off in a casual pace down the bridge, tapping the blade of his sword against the snow covered ground, absentmindedly drawing a line in the snow with the tip.

He kept turning right and left as he walked, offhandedly glancing at the stone and metal work of the front entrance of the castle and the bridge. The mechanisms that supported its drawing and releasing were certainly contrasting to say the least, technology and what could only be described as magic working seamlessly together. Though the bridge looked more like metal than stone but the architecture was nevertheless a spectacular sight to behold.

He made it to the centre of the bridge, surprised at the lack of defences. There wasn't as much as a peep since he got there and it was certainly a bit of a letdown. He knew the mission was trivial at most but he expected a bit of opposition. The bout with the sun glassed stalker got his blood running and he was ready for more, and that was when the bridge started vibrating.

So much for wishful thinking

'It's getting colder' he thought. The air had gotten thicker with ice and a fog that came out of nowhere was descending menacingly from the castle's roof.

There was a shattering sound like the breaking of glass.

And without warning, four demons covered in ice appeared, surrounding him. "Well... I didn't expect a warm welcome anyway." he said, the twitch on the sides of his mouth giving way to a smile as he turned slowly in a circle, eyeing the demons.

"Are we going to dance or what?" he said, gripping the hilt of his sword with his left hand and swinging it in an impressive arc. The blade looked like it had a life of its own as the metal of the blade shone brighter than normal steel. The demons stopped to stare at the blade as he brought it down in front of him, flicking his wrist and making the sword turn, showing the broad side of the blade. It had what seemed to be glimmering green electric lines running through it.

"Showtime, Aclima," he said, looking down at the blade as the icy demons, the Frosts, started advancing slowly but menacingly towards him. He obliged by raising his right hand and beckoning silently, all the while the familiar smile remained etched on his lips. Two of the Frosts attacked at once.

They slashed at him with their ice sculpted claws, but he merely swooned one way, then the other. Their claws sliced past him, giving him a perfect view of the underbelly of the one on the right, to which he delivered a roundhouse kick, his white boots blazing silver as the kick connected with the demon. The impact sent it over the bridge, and he side rolled in front of the one to his left as the other two started shooting ice shards at him. They ended up impaling the Frost between them.

One of the two shooting the shards levitated claws half raised, and teleported, disappearing momentarily as the other sent an ice chasm towards Cain.

There was a flash of silver and he vanished.

He reappeared, catching the teleporting Frost with his right hand, which seemed to be encased halfway up to the elbow with a silver gauntlet that ended in a claw like glove at the wrist. The Frost feeling the strange metal against its skin screeched at the contact. He jumped again on thin air, leaving a fleeting, circular, white runic symbol where he was seconds ago, with the Frost still in his grasp. He somersaulted and threw the demon down at the ice chasm created by the other Frost below him, where it stuck, impaled.

There was a split second as his eyes and the last Frost's locked. The Frost crouched and took aim with its claw.

But Cain was too fast.

In a fluid motion he turned in the air with his back to the Frost, and with blazing speed turned again, his silver aura slightly visible around him as he threw Aclima. The Frost had no time to react as the sword ran through it, shattering the Frost and embedding itself in the ground in front of the door to the Castle's entrance.

He teleported and reappeared in front of the wrought iron door. He tugged Aclima free from the ground and slung it across his shoulders, with his other hand on his hip, taking another sweeping look around.

"Too easy," he remarked, turning back to look at the door. He could not believe the naivety of humans, thinking of metal as the best way of fortification. Reaching out to the door with his gloved right hand, he caressed the line where the two doors met almost lovingly with his fingers, and it opened silently without a creak of protest.

It had been shut for almost three years.

The main hall still looked pristine and in good condition after all that time, almost as if no one ever lived in the castle before. The various Alchemy Souls still present within the castle's various rooms were doing their jobs, enabling each room to repair itself unless countered by an equally powerful enchantment. Nevertheless, the furniture had the look of forlorn desertion, the mosaic of the floor and the well painted walls remained intact, but each stroke of brush and each complete work looked like it had hundreds of stories to tell. Almost like the castle was never abandoned in the first place.

He walked to the middle of the hall, and stared at the bronze circle amidst rubble that looked like it came from what he was looking for.

A coffin that was supposed to be in the middle of the room

'Curious,' he thought, and raised his head in the direction of the ceiling to see what could have caused the coffins' destruction.

He could see no chandelier in the ceiling, which was expected as it was lying a few feet away from him.

'Wonder what cut you loose,' he thought, pulling back his hood and turning in a slow circle, his black eyes giving the hall a sweeping look.

Still, he wasn't convinced.

He could sense no Anima Mercury present in the room, even though there was a Gyro Blade beneath the terrace balcony of the upper floor.

Only that particular alchemy soul could break the coffin's seal and enchantments.

He looked up at the terrace, where there was a wall sized portrait of an old man that was missing a considerable chunk in the middle. Sizing up the terrace, he took a run and jumped, landing on the railing, and his suspicions were confirmed. The chandelier had crashed or something had made it crash into the portrait, and there was a path beyond it.

"Please don't tell me this was all a wild goose chase," he said, disappointed, turning back to look at the broken furniture.

Something about the bluish rubble of the demonic coffin and the bronze circle made him stop for a moment. There was a bluish light glowing beneath the bronze circle since he came in, and it had been growing brighter as he had been looking around.

"You clever devil, hiding it underneath and not within," he said, the smile back on his face as he disappeared from the railing in a flash of silver, and appeared in the air directly overhead the bronze circle.

He seemed almost suspended in the air as he drew with his left hand from a hidden holster attached to his belt under his jacket, a heavily customized looking silver Desert Eagle. The same logo on his jacket was on the left side of the barrel in black. Revolving slowly in the air till he was upside down, he fired a single shot of concentrated energy which streaked silver and green into the rubble.

For a second nothing happened.

Suddenly the ground beneath the rubble exploded and light filled the room completely, casting shadows left and right.

Flipping and landing in a crouch on the other side of the hall at the main door, he slowly stood to behold an orb that was a swirl of blue and white resonating with power - the most powerful of the souls in the castle. For once he was not smiling, but knelt with his right hand extended as the dark soul, the Radix Eterna, approached him.

The orb resonated with power as it landed on his hand. It felt weightless and at the same time heavy, like he was holding a block of air that had fermented. He pulled out the silver ring tied around his neck and held it up to the orb.

Both the ring and the orb glowed so brightly he had to cover his eyes. By the time he opened them, the orb had disappeared and the stone in the middle of the ring shone a clear electric blue.

"Guess my work here is done," He said, standing up and turning to the door, pausing to look around expectantly after taking a tentative first step.

Nothing happened.

"Well that's a letdown," he said, proceeding to make his way towards the door which opened with a wave of his hand, and once again he found himself staring at a snow covered bridge.

Pulling his hood over his face once again, he set off towards the archway where it would be far away from the castle for him to teleport back to the abandoned mansion.

But he hadn't gotten farther than a few steps when gigantic boulders of ice appeared from nowhere, crashing into the bridge, completely obliterating it.

"Well, well, seems the old devil had one more card after all," Cain said, unclipping his blade from behind him once more as he jumped on the make shift bridge that the boulders had formed. When the dust from the resulting crash cleared, a demon was standing in the centre of the ice, arms folded, looking at Cain.

The eyes of the demon shone blue as it stared down at Cain, slightly tilting its horned head that had spiky hair and a beard made of ice. There were ice shards sticking out at the sides of its humanoid body. The demon seemed to be made of dark ice and its huge wings made the striking semblance to gargoyles that more striking.

The demon unfolded its hands and a long three pronged spear that seemed to pulsate with a bluish light appeared in its right hand, and a blue flame burst into life in its left, engulfing his wrist.

"Defiler of the sacred tomb," it said in a deep voice that seemed to come from everywhere but the demon itself, "Return the object of your theft, or face the frozen flames of Ghelgath!" said Ghelgath, pointing its trident at Cain.

"It's unbecoming for demons to go about brandishing sticks you know, it's quite uncivilized," remarked Cain, placing Aclima in front of him with a swish.

"YOU DARE MOCK ME, YOU HUMAN FILTH???" screamed Ghelgath in a rage.

Cain tilted his head, looking up as if considering it.

"Hmm… Yes," he replied simply.

"Fool, this ice shall be your tomb!!!" roared Ghelgath, rearing and spreading his wings. His trident-like spear thrust out in front of him and he rushed through the air at Cain, intending to run him through. The air thickened just as Ghelgath was about to split Cain in half. Ghelgath felt no contact and as the air cleared, Cain was nowhere to be found.

"Show yourself… whatever you are," grunted Ghelgath in midair, looking around. He was no longer certain the insolent wretch was a human being.

There was a flash of silver but Ghelgath was ready for it. He stabbed at it with surprising speed for a demon his size but again there was nothing.

There was an amused chuckle behind him and Ghelgath turned only to come face to face with Cain.

Their eyes locked.

It was like an electric shock to Ghelgath as everything went black and white for a brief moment, then he went rigid, suspended on thin air.

Cain circled the demon, inspecting it even as it gave him a hate filled look. Its face twitched slightly as Cain chuckled again, a single sound of amusement.

He turned and started walking away from the demon.

Ghelgath seemed to be fighting the Time Paradox he was set in and as Cain walked towards the archway, he seemed to be getting better control the farther the 'filthy human' got from him.

Just as Cain was about to leave the make shift bridge, Ghelgath broke free and with another roar rushed at Cain, gathering speed with his trident stuck out in front of him.

Instead of impaling Cain, Ghelgath came face to face with the triangular barrel of a silver gun that had the initials A.D.A.M. on its left side.

"Subtlety is definitely not one of your strong points," said Cain with his back to the demon.

"You…"

BANG!!!

Nero decided to take a ride… back to Fortuna…


	4. Mission 4: Serendipitous Disaster

Mission 4: Serendipitous Disaster

"Discover the New Devil Within"

Thoughts flashed in Nero's mind as fast as he zoomed through the brightly lit streets on his bike. 'Dante will be pissed I left without saying goodbye but well… I miss Kyrie,' he thought but then realized that Dante might not even notice he left.

Dante had taken to constant broodings.

It would be better to come back another time.

'He's so preoccupied in his own thoughts these days' Nero wondered,

Accelerating the bike to turn a corner he saw Kyrie.

Blinking in surprise he saw it was just a girl with similar hair among a group of her friends, chattering animatedly as they waited to enter a nightclub.

'Get a grip,' Nero thought as he continued racing along the streets.

He had reached the highway that would take him to the cathedral where he could warp back to Fortuna, but he was going to stop on the way when he reached an old empty mountain road, which was on a higher elevation than the rest of the city and therefore offered various spots, which one could have a picture perfect view of the city or the sky.

The wind blew back his hair as he raced along the road and the wind in his face made Nero feel somewhat refreshed.

He liked the view of the road side even more than usual, ever since he came to the city he often visited this particular road to be alone and think.

Nero had a favourite spot just out of view behind a group of trees, with a perfect view of the city cemetery and he decided to head there. Nero loved the view especially when the sun was about to set.

Dante could make fun of him if he wanted to, but there was nothing as beautiful as the sunset in Nero's opinion, and he would watch it, and if Dante made any jokes…

He would at least try to get a couple of punches in (preferably with his right hand) before Dante had him in a headlock.

The spot was quiet and tranquil as usual from the distance even in the moonlight. The full moon in the sky did nothing but beautify the spot.

He slowed to a stop and got off his bike, leaving it on the roadside; he headed towards the trees on foot.

He parted some of the branches as he was trying to pass through the trees.

The devil bringer started glowing.

Sure enough the vibrating sensation followed.

Both of which had not happened in over three years.

Nero could find nothing out of the ordinary, but he had long since learned to trust his instincts and the warnings of the Devil Bringer. Even when he looked through the branches, only the back of a silver knee length jacket could be seen, turning around to look down the road beside him…

Nero suddenly stopped.

"What the…"

Stunned, he slowly turned back to the direction of the trees and peered again, watching the figure of Cain standing with his back to Nero as he stood looking down at the cemetery.

Nero quickly came to his senses and debated on whether to call out but…

Cain was standing with his head bowed almost as if in prayer. His shoulders were slumped as if he was tired or trying to hold up an unbearable weight…

Something about it stopped him, thinking that Cain was possibly in no mood for company.

Disregarding this notion, Nero stepped through the branches and walked towards Cain till he was standing by his side, and he saw what had Cain's attention.

Nero could not believe his eyes but could not tear them away from what he was seeing.

It was like staring into a television screen with the sound turned low in your mind. Nero heard all about the ancient cemetery from Lady, the unstable demonic powers that haunted it and the terrible things that had happened there. This was like seeing the past before his eyes…

There was a congregation of villagers walking up from the pathway towards the cemetery and the night was ablaze with their torches.

Nero could make out three figures slightly in front of the crowd, and as they came nearer he could make out a limp figure held in between two stout and broad shouldered men who were half dragging, half carrying her.

Nero looked at Cain to see his reaction, but the devil looked on as if something was making him watch the scene below.

Cain was in a trance.

Nero then realized that the devil had no idea Nero was at his side. Turning back to the scene, Nero saw that the men had the woman propped against a tree where she leaned half standing, half reclining while they busily prepared what looked like a noose on the higher branches, and another man was pouring something at the foot of the tree.

On a wooden platform beside the tree a toad-like man with straggly hair and an unhealthy looking protruding belly clearly visible under his silk shirt, was gesturing with vigour, as if delivering a sermon or preaching, while all the while pointing to the woman by the tree.

Nero disliked the man immediately with his seemingly empty words, even though the man was too far away from where they were standing, and he made odd jerking movements with his head.

His eyes kept darting left and right as if afraid of something.

He was adorned with a velvet waistcoat and tights, and the buckles of his shoes were golden, which glinted in the blazing torches even at a distance. He looked like a disfigured movie star among a gaggle of blind or clearly retarded admirers.

Suddenly there was a commotion from the back of the group.

A man with long red hair covering half his face came running towards the group with a long sword.

Nero could certainly see that this man was quite a skilled fighter as he dispatched the foot soldiers present with ease. He only stopped when he saw the woman with a knife at her throat held by, from the distance what Nero could make out, to be a short squat hunchbacked demon. Only then did the red haired man stop and the foot soldiers immediately fell on him, and the woman screamed as a noose was put around her neck and she was tied to the tree.

It was only then with sickening realization Nero saw the bump on her stomach.

Turning to Cain, Nero was angry to see that he was not even making any move to try and help the woman, whom Nero noticed was brown skinned and raven haired too.

"They are going to kill her, we have to help!" Nero shouted at Cain, seemingly forgetting that what he was watching was not really happening.

Cain still stood in the same state he had been since Nero found him in the clearing. Nero made a move to start climbing down the mountain side but he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Cain was looking at him straight in the eye.

Nero was surprised to see that the Cain's eyes were green with whites, not the dark pools that he saw before. Nero looked down to see the Devil Bringer glowing through his sleeve at the contact.

Turning back and looking down, he realized it was too late. Where the woman and the tree remained only a burning fire was to be seen, and the figure of her red haired husband lay in a pool of his own blood, indistinguishable from his hair in front of the platform.

It was sickening to hear the cheers from the mob as the woman burned, but what was unbearably nauseating was the satisfied smile on the toad man's face as he watched her burn.

With revulsion, Nero spotted the thing which he mistook for a demon dancing around the tree.

It was just a disfigured human hunchback.

Tears of rage and sorrow came to Nero's eyes as he felt for the woman and the man he was sure was her husband, but who he felt for most was the baby that was never born.

"It must have been tough for them to live at a time like that, don't you think so?" Cain finally spoke.

Nero could detect an edge of anger in the otherwise light tone.

Finally looking at Nero as the scene dissolved and only the view of the modern city cemetery remained, Cain turned and walked away from the cliff. Nero finally understood what the whole scene was.

It was a fragment of Cain's memory from somewhere at a time in his life, triggered by the some demonic power emanating from the cemetery.

"Were those…" Nero asked, trailing off, not sure what to proceed with because the two people looked perfectly human while there was no mistaking that Cain was a pure devil regardless of his form.

"My parents? In a way, but as you can see I never got to know them," answered Cain, still looking away from the cemetery with his back to Nero.

"My mother Elizabetha, an innocent woman convicted of witchcraft by an inquisitor after she was put through torture," said Cain, the anger in his voice growing as he spoke.

Turning around to face Nero, he glanced at the devil bringer again before continuing to speak.

"She never confessed under torture, but the 'thing' that had the knife against her declared there was a mark of a witch on her body, hence the hanging and burning," said Cain with all traces of his usual smile gone from his face.

"My father tried to stop them, but he, like the revered Dark Knight, chose to leave his power in the demon world as well… lot of good that's done him," said Cain, smiling ruefully and turned his back on Nero again, staring at the road.

"The humans they fought so hard to protect, ironic that they became their grim reapers, in my father's case literally." finished Cain and turned his head slightly to catch a glimpse of Nero still standing quietly as this information caught up with him.

"Yes, demons loving humans always ends up in tragedy," said Cain as if answering Nero's unspoken question.

Nero was amazed to say the least.

He never knew there were devils with such a capability for emotion.

As sure as he ever was about Sanctus being a glorified goat, Nero was willing to bet his life that the heart beating in Cain's chest was not a devil's but underneath the stable calm and fortitude lied a rage filled animal, that if unleashed would wreck havoc of unimaginable proportions.

"Humans are capable of such evil, and yet they call 'us' evil," said Cain, pointing at Nero and himself.

This gesture surprised Nero.

"How did you know?" asked Nero, unconsciously raising his right hand slightly before letting it drop back to his side.

"That you possess demonic power?" asked Cain, his familiar smile returning.

"You positively reek of it," he said, smiling as he eyed the concealed devil bringer once again.

Cain's curiosity finally got the better of him.

"What kind of metal is your right arm made of?" he asked Nero, still watching Nero's arm.

Nero was slightly confused by this question about his arm.

"My arm isn't metal," replied Nero, puzzled, then he remembered Cain's short but heated battle against Lady and how he had stopped her bullets, and what Trish told them that metal was some form of specialty this demon possessed.

For some reason Nero felt he could trust this devil.

"You probably sensed this," said Nero and underneath his glove there was a purple glow as the sheath of a very familiar blade formed in Nero's gloved right hand.

It was an elongated and slightly curved sheathed Japanese katana with a white and black crisscrossing design on the hilt.

Cain was amazed at the sight of a blade he had all but seen, having been told various tales and legends regarding the sword and its infamous owner.

"You possess Yamato?" asked Cain amazed. "How is that possible?"

"Well it's a long story," Nero replied but noticed a curious glow beneath Cain's vest. It was a pulsating throb and then Devil Bringer started glowing as well.

The glow made Cain look down too; it was his ring shining blue and white.

For a moment Nero stared at the ring, it was made of the purest silver and had a blue oval stone of some sort and it was from this stone that the bluish light was emanating.

The light from the ring was somehow forcing Nero to keep staring at it, glinting and shining beautifully in the moonlight. Nero was a little bit annoyed to see the ring moving left and right in odd movements because something about the ring seemed oddly familiar, and he just could place it if only the damn thing would stay still…

A strangled yell brought Nero back to reality and he was shocked to see Cain on his knees grappling with the chain on his neck and trying to free himself from it.

Whatever was glowing within the ring was trying to choke him.

Nero rushed to help Cain, dropping Yamato on the ground as he went.

Cain's breathing was becoming erratic as Nero used his left hand to try and break the chain but the power of the ring was unrelenting.

Cain's eyes were glazing over.

In desperation Nero unleashed the Devil Bringer and tore the chain from Cain's neck, flinging it away.

"Are you all right?" Nero asked, helping Cain to his feet.

"Yeah, apparently my ring and your sword don't mix, wrong as that may sound," answered Cain, rubbing his neck and smiling.

Both Cain and Nero laughed at the joke and at the thought of finally meeting someone that was almost like him made Nero cheerful.

Someone he could eventually to refer to as a friend…

His thoughts were broken as a bluish light appeared behind him and a change in Cain's expression, looking at something behind Nero, made him turn around to see the ring and Yamato hovering around each other with a blue aura surrounding the two.

The aura was growing larger and more substantial as the circling, somewhat like a macabre dance ritual, went faster until in the dizzy speed the ring was above Yamato and the sword was beneath the ring.

An orb of pure electric blue formed around the ring as the aura started taking an ethereal demonic humanoid shape.

Nero grabbed Red Queen from his back and Cain unclipped Aclima from behind him.

"I was wrong," remarked Cain grimly, standing side by side with Nero. "They do mix".

Despite the attempt at humour, Nero was sure Cain could also sense the frightening power that was growing as the ring and Yamato continued their weird dance, but the rhythm was growing slower as the ghost like figure hovered just inches from the ground.

Almost discernable, yet still transparent, it looked at Nero and Cain and raised its right hand, poised as if ready to beckon them.

And with a voice that sounded charged with electricity said, "Come on!"

Neither having the time for witty comebacks, the two attacked it in unison.

Nero got to it first and let loose with a deadly slash with Red Queen, seamlessly Max Acting its Exceed Gauge, but with a flash of blue the ghost like figure moved towards the edge of the mountain side as Nero Exceed Streaked towards it, letting loose flames and propellant from his sword. But it made contact with thin air and before Nero realized it, he was toppling over the edge of the mountain.

It was a comical sight.

For a split second Nero poised on the edge of the mountain on one foot; arms stretched like a ballerina then slowly started falling over towards the unforgiving spikes on the cemetery wall below.

"No time for pirouettes, choirboy," said Cain with a smile as he pulled Nero back to level ground.

"Yeah, not when things are starting to heat up," replied Nero, smirking and revving up Red Queen as he said it, causing Cain to roll his eyes.

The ghostly form merely looked from one to the other in a contemptuous way.

"Let's see how fast you really are," said Cain to the ghost as he disappeared with a flash of silver and appeared in front of it, only to vanish as Yamato was unsheathed with blinding speed almost cleaving him in half.

Appearing behind the ghost figure he brought his sword down on it. It hit the ring, sending a shock wave that threw Cain against a tree, momentarily knocking the wind out of him.

The ghost raised its hand and shot a blue scimitar-like projectile at Cain, only for him to vanish in a flash of silver and appear again beside Nero.

They braced, and then attacked at the same time.

But their slashes only met thin air as their swords cleaved through the apparition as if it were smoke.

"Let's one two this kemosabe," said Cain, readying his sword.

"Right behind you," replied Nero, revving Red Queen.

Nero and Cain attacked in turn; Nero slashed at the figure then table hopped away from the apparitions strike in a puff of smoke.

Cain appeared and attacked the ghost again, then disappeared in a flash of silver before it had time to recover.

This seemed to be working.

The blue ghost anticipated, then blocked, their next two attacks with equal speed, knocking them both back, and Nero's frustration started getting the better of him.

Taking a run, he jumped and unleashed his right arm to buster Yamato with the devil bringer, in the hopes of snatching it, but the ghostly apparition moved sideways before appearing in front of a kneeling Nero.

Drawing Yamato with eye defying speed, the demonic blue ghost stabbed Nero in his right arm.

Nero fell back, clutching his hand which was in excruciating pain.

Nero was faintly aware of Cain's concerned shout or the blue streak of light that left the devil like phantom, or that the devil bringer had assumed a dead looking pallor.

An understanding and comforting darkness was slowly enveloping him and he was just grateful for the rest.

Embracing the darkness, Nero fainted…

Cain stood alone, facing the demonic aura as it attached the sheath of Yamato to its right arm, transforming the sheath into a part of itself.

It was weird seeing the phantom-like wispy being and the fully formed sword merge as one, but then the real Yamato dropped from the ghost's body as a phantom sword, resembling the Katana, appeared in the apparition's right hand.

Cain's ring broke and he finally understood.

Nero had no idea what truly resided within the blade he stored in his arm.

The Radix Eterna was serving its purpose, only not the one Cain intended.

The Alchemy soul was giving a physical manifestation to what Cain could sense was hunger.

An obsessive hunger for power

They stood staring appraisingly at each other for a moment, then the soul challenged again in its familiar electric charged voice,

"Come on."

The Phantom beckoned as it eyed Cain, the transparent markings appearing on its body all but confirmed Cain's suspicion.

The samurai armour-like features became clearer, and the blue eyes shone brighter than the cacophony of blue which still formed the mass of the aura's shape.

This was the physical manifestation of a Dark Slayer's power.

Cain remained unfazed as he readied Aclima, swinging it in an arc, ready to fight the demonic power.

"Let me guess," said Cain, bringing Aclima to his side and taking a fighting stance, his eyes becoming the dark pools they were before.

"Like a one trick pony, you can only say come on?"

The figure finally touched the ground, somewhat distorted looking.

An astral demonic samurai

Although ghost like and transparent, it still struck an intimidating and impressive sight.

In the blink of an eye, the figure dashed forward as the Phantom Yamato was unsheathed, rapidly letting loose countless slashes.

Cain collapsed to his knees.

The figure seamlessly sheathed Yamato, standing up from a crouch like position as Cain fell to the ground behind it, Nero motionless not far away.

The face split, one part a demonic mask, and one part almost human looking.

In the same electrically charged voice, it replied, "Wrong."

Back at Devil May Cry, The silence was Unbearable…


	5. Mission 5: A Girl Thing

Mission 5: A girl thing

"Exit Sense and Enter the Unexpected"

Trish and Lady rarely found themselves alone together.

Whenever they did, the silence and tension was something you could cut into several portions, it was overbearing to the point of being down right unpleasant.

Lady still did not like Trish ever since returning from a long mission only to find Dante's shop ridiculously renamed Devil Never Cry and this blonde bimbo sitting on his table eating pizza.

And to top it all he even went as far as to give her his father's old guns.

Lady would never admit it under the severest of tortures, but she had hoped Dante would do something like that for her.

Not that she was in love with him or anything ('Yeah right' was Dante's usual reply to this).

As far as she was concerned, Dante was still the same annoying jerk she first met inside the ice chamber of Temeni Gru.

Only thing that changed was that he'd grown more unkillable over the years and that didn't help when it was one of those "I'm gonna kill you Dante" days.

Lady never hid the fact from Trish that she did not trust her, but Dante does and that was good enough for her. But the day the bimbo slipped, she would be the first one there with Kalina Ann locked and loaded.

Lady was not one of Trish's favourite people either.

Mainly due to the fact that Lady had tried to kill her on several occasions without much success, although she did break her nail the first time they fought in front of Devil May Cry.

That was unforgivable.

The main reason Trish disliked Lady was the possibility that Lady and Dante might fall in love.

Something that would never happen between Trish and Dante.

She was his mother's carbon copy in every physical way and on a scale of one to wrong – a definite no.

Even though she could shape shift, it would still be weird.

This made Trish slightly jealous of Lady, for even though she spent most of the time with Dante and Lady was merely a gun toting hussy, Trish will only ever be Dante's demon hunting partner.

Their feelings for each other never surpassed friendship, no matter how close they were. Mundus, damn him, made sure of that and sometimes, even though fleetingly, there is a startled look on Dante's face whenever he runs into her in the doorway, or bumps into her in a corner either in the shop or out; like he is seeing his mother but then realizes it is Trish, that split second always reminds Trish of what she is.

A very good copy but nothing more.

All this was going through their heads as Lady sat behind the desk with her legs propped up and her face hidden behind an upside down magazine, while Trish was still reclined on the plush sofa doing her nails.

Lady kept snatching glances of Trish from behind the magazine.

Trish was a man's dream embodied; blonde and curvaceous with that feminine felinity that drove men crazy.

Lady always wondered if Dante didn't find it disturbing that Trish strutted her stuff around, leaving little to the imagination, but she concluded that indignation to indecency was not part of Dante's character.

"Is there something on my face?" Trish asked suddenly.

This startled Lady and she hurriedly returned to the magazine, noticing it was upside down for the first time.

It was a copy of Buxom Bad Cats.

She dropped it back on the table, standing up and backing all the way to the wall, her face a picture of horror that caused Trish to chuckle.

"I was, er, looking for a new outfit…" Lady trailed off lamely, looking at Trish with a glare as if daring her to suggest otherwise.

Or tell Dante about it.

Trish looked at the abandoned magazine by the table and then looked at Lady, who looked like she was trying to become part of the wallpaper.

"Right." Trish drawled, her seductive voice drawing out the word.

Cocking her head to one side Trish looked up as if contemplating something; she smiled, dropping her nail file on the coffee table beside the sofa and stood up.

Trish walked towards Lady until only the table was between them.

This move seemed somewhat disconcerting to Lady as Trish simply stared at her with a sly look on her face.

"What?" Lady asked defensively, folding her hands in apprehension.

"Oh, nothing." replied Trish nonchalantly, picking up the magazine and studying the page.

"Don't think this'll fit you though, you're too…" giving Lady a once over, "rigid." Trish finished, showing Lady the page with a picture of a woman in a leather costume whose chest filled half of the page.

"Are you saying I've no shape?" asked Lady, suddenly flaring up.

"Well, there's shape," said Trish, mirroring Lady's demeanour and folding her hands, "And then there is shape. As you can see, I'm the latter." said Trish, hands on her hips and tossing her hair to emphasize her point.

This infuriated Lady, making her walk around to the other side of the table and both women stood facing each other.

Each wearing a forced smile.

"You know…" said Trish, suddenly relaxing and taking a step towards Lady, the sly look on her face returning, "We don't always have to bicker like old ladies."

"What are you talking about?" asked Lady, suddenly suspicious as Trish took another step towards her. "Yes, we do."

"No, we don't." replied Trish with a smile that Lady found slightly disturbing.

"Come on, I feel something else beneath your animosity," added Trish, taking another step towards Lady who took another defiant step back.

"Like the way you look at me," said Trish, almost in a whisper. It brought a chill down Lady's spine as she took another step back, this time in fear.

"I...I don't." Lady stammered back, wondering if Trish had lost her mind, but Trish merely took another step towards her and Lady took another one back.

This continued until there was a thud and Lady realized she was backed against a wall.

"Now now, why are you running from me?" asked Trish, putting an arm to block Lady from going to one side, and another when she tried to go the other way.

"Let's talk about this," said Lady in an almost inaudible whisper but Trish wasn't listening.

She had both arms on Lady's shoulders and pulled her closer.

"I swear, I'm going to shoot," said Lady, making a final attempt with a threat that came off as a high pitched plea.

"Go ahead," whispered Trish seductively, "I would probably like It." she said, pulling Lady's face closer to her and puckering her lips.

There was a flash of brilliant blue and Trish was flung from her, crashing into the opposite wall.

The entire shop was filled with blinding light.

Lady could just barely make out Trish's form on the floor when she heard a sound like something was breaking away.

Another beam of brighter blue entwined with crimson and gold shot through the light filled room, and Lady heard the definite sound of the door breaking off its hinges.

As sudden as the light came it went, and Lady and Trish were shrouded in darkness.

"Trish!" called out Lady, groping her way towards the other end of the room as her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness.

"Over here," replied Trish feebly.

"You okay?" asked Lady, finally getting to Trish, who nodded in reply as Lady sat beside her on the floor with her back to the wall.

"Good…" said Lady, willing her beating heart to slow. "Just let me catch my breath, and then I can kill you."

"Don't flatter yourself, you're not my type," said Trish with a laugh, wiping dust from her cheek, "Dante suggested it, he was sure it would scare you." said Trish, smiling.

"He was right."

"Fine, I will kill him then," said Lady, still recovering from the shock of what Trish would have done to her if not for the sudden interruption.

"What do you think…" began Lady, but she was cut off by an annoyed voice outside.

"I hope you have enough to cover all this!" said an annoyed Dante, poking his head through the doorway and looking around.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

"What were you two doing?" He asked, seeing Lady and Trish sitting side by side on the ground, his eyes widened in surprise as he stepped into the shop, looking around.

Lady and Trish looked at each other, then jumped to their feet and moved away, Lady moving away faster with the memories of her near violation still fresh in her mind.

"It's not what it looks like… she started it Dante," said Lady in a sudden burst, but then she went very red and hurried away towards the other corner, picking up her discarded gun belt. "I mean she just came over me and…"

"Are you even listening?!?!" asked Lady, who realized she had been jabbering away on her own, slightly bordering on hysteria.

There was silence in the shop.

Dante and Trish were looking at each other.

As much as Lady disliked Trish, she felt an overwhelming compassion for her when she saw her; covered in dust, her top slightly askew, looking at Dante with the look of utmost sadness on her face, and she was on the border of tears.

What surprised Lady more was Dante.

He had the same look.

Without a word, Dante crossed the room in quick strides and hugged Trish.

"I'm sorry I …"

"Sssh," said Dante, stroking her blonde silky hair as she held on to him as if she would never let go, crying silently into his shoulder.

"It's okay, let's just forget it," said Dante, wiping a tear from her cheek.

Lady was a bit dazed to say the least by this continuing streak of bizarre events that had been happening for the past half hour, leading her to start considering evaluating her sanity, when someone cleared their throat at the doorway, giving her a jolt.

"Someone might step on your blades if you keep them lying around," said Anna, who had followed Dante into the shop unnoticed, and was now holding a sword in her hands.

Anna was holding the Force Edge.

Dante looked at her holding the blade for a second, and then the clarifying wave of understanding crashed through him. He let go of Trish and vaulted across his table, only to confirm his suspicions.

Lady, Trish, and Anna were surprised by this, but Trish and Lady to an extent understood that something was not right as Dante slowly stood up with a silver half-amulet in his hand.

He wakes up alone in an abandoned mansion...


	6. Mission 6: Sleeper Awakens

Mission 6: Sleeper Awakens

"Fight off death's cold embrace"

I was a fool…

I descended from the noblest of devil blood and yet I fell victim to the basest of flaws, and as a consequence of my hind sighted actions committed an act that bleeds foolishness.

I made a deal with the devil.

In my quest for perfection an oversight was triggered within me that effectively clouded my judgment, so clouded that I could not detect the trickery until it was too late.

Not to mention the lack of pre-emption after facing a similar sleight from the one whole styled himself as Jester.

Ridiculous…

The not so distant past seems so distant now, his real name I do not even bother to recall, or is this a result of the treachery that befell me?

I do not know.

In a twisted way I was a hero, I helped my father's greatest enemy to vanquish a threat far greater than he ever was to my father; I presume he would have been proud.

In a twisted way

I forsook my humanity for absolute power; in my haste I overlooked the fact that my humanity was my strongest virtue.

He knew.

That was why he effortlessly beat me the last time we met, in what I thought were my last moments I committed an act of compassion by providing him with the power I viciously fought him for only a few years ago.

Yes, I remember.

I did, in my pride I chose to condemn myself to the world of demons instead of accepting his hand in assistance.

Ironic…

That my first act of compassion as an adult was the one that saved me.

There was a bright light.

She told me her name… Mary… or was it Celeste?

I don't remember; my memory fails me again.

I asked for my mother but she denied, saying it was not my time but a time to rest and heal my wounds, for my role in the battle against evil was not over.

I was confused. What did she mean evil?

I am evil…

She smiled and said my father would be proud, this startled me and before I could ask her of his whereabouts it became very bright.

And then…

I woke up here.

My body feels stiff. I can barely move, I am in the dark but I am near a window and the moonlight filters through.

How I have missed the moon.

There are footsteps and I remain still. The footsteps are light but carry a purposeful weight. A woman with power.

She walks over to the window and pulls back her hood. Her beauty is breathtaking, but the seductive power that was emanating from her was uglier than the blackest pits of the circle's lust.

A succubus on the hunt. As if she hears me thinking out loud, she turns and walks over. I remain still and resolutely unmoving. She leans over, touches my face but the contact seemed shielded.

For the first time I realized that I am covered in bandages.

She bends her face towards me and to my horror, licks my chin through a slight tear in the bandages. Disregarding my nauseating disgust I was glad to feel the touch contacting skin.

I was human again; I no longer had that corrupted metallic skin graced upon me by the demon lord.

Hmm… Demon Lord indeed. If only his followers would have learnt of his cowardice in the face of true devil hierarchy.

The Fallen…

And I, the fallen son of Sparda, faced them as the most royal of devils.

The Dark Angel; Angelo Nero.

Yes Father, you would have been proud.

My fists clench in excitement at the thought, and the succubus froze. How she had straddled me without my realizing I wonder, but she slowly dismounted and backed away. She was less human in the light now.

Her skin had obtained a waxy pallor, her face distorting and her mouth had become a maw with rows of feelers instead of teeth. She reverted her face to its normal beauty in such a speed that I thought it must have been a trick of the moonlight had I not seen that type of transformation before.

Yes, I remember now, I remember it all.

She speeds away faster than any human could on two legs, probably given an extra incentive by the sight I must have been, disjointedly standing up from the elevated stone slab that was my bed. It had runic markings that I did not care for.

The tall Victorian style window opened; I was in a mansion. Abandoned by the looks of it.

A blue light entwined with crimson and gold shot through and headed directly for me and I felt it, that glorious feeling that many a human and devil alike had killed to possess.

Power.

An amulet of gold with a crimson stone rested itself on my chest as I felt its gold chain around my neck. How I have missed it.

As I stood there looking around me, covered in attire that seemed to be made of bandages, one named scratched the chalkboard of my consciousness - my thoughts broken by its piercing arrow of interruption, wrecking my dreams and tormenting me in nightmares. Ours is a fight not finished by any means.

The name breaks even my thought of it.

I move my joints and look at them; they seem like strangers I have met in a distant past. I regarded my human shell with disdain before, but now I feel empowered as I am rejoined with it once more.

I would have cried in joy had I been human.

A glint catches my eye and I turn to face a mirror opposite the window. The curiosity to see myself grips me and drives me to walk to it.

My steps falter at first, but in a feat that defines defiance I regain my balance and composure.

I walk purposefully towards the mirror. The bandages concealing me start to unravel and by the time I reach the mirror, I have nothing on but white undershorts.

My face had changed, I look slightly older but it is a good thing, there is no place for boyish charms anymore.

What's this!

Turning my face slightly to the left, I see a barely visible, thin, silver scar that ran from under my left ear to the base of my jaw.

A penance no doubt, I will have to thank Mundus personally someday.

My hair appears well kept, although considerably longer than the last time I cared to check. It was tousled, reaching my shoulders in the back and it obscures my face a bit in the front.

I put my hand to it, touching it for a moment then push it back, pulling it away from my face; a single strand falls back slightly to the left as the rest remained perfectly smoothed back.

There is a creaking sound and I turn. A cupboard I had failed to notice before was standing by the window.

I walk over and withdraw the garments placed within it. The black riding boots and pants are exactly to my taste, as is the black armless top and black gloves.

The coat on the other hand did not strike my fancy; it was full length and made of black leather which was not what I had expected, but nevertheless I put on the clothes.

Beggars can't be choosers.

An electric blue light fills the room as I feel the tell tale of footsteps entering through the doorway that wench had used to make her untimely exit.

"What took you so long?" I asked, surprised at the strength of my voice.

There was no answer.

I merely laugh a single chuckle devoid of humour and don the black jacket. Come to think of it, it looks good. Perhaps black is the new blue.

I turn around.

What I can only describe as a samurai-like apparition stared at me impassively; I have always wondered what the spiritual manifestation of a Dark Slayer resembled.

Now I know.

The apparition walks towards me and I notice the sheathed phantom blade attached to its left hand. My own left arm feels empty and weightless to me now.

Is there something missing?

The apparition walks right into me and another unbelievable surge course through my blood; I notice the coat had turned blue with a dragon-like motif around the edges and the sleeves.

I laugh out loud this time.

I am whole again.

Anna was scared out of her mind; she always knew that something wasn't right about that particular statue. In fact, it was the power that resonated from within it that had drawn her to it in the first place.

But it had moved.

Moved!

She made her way down the stairs through the hallways. She was in a hurry to leave the house because the power she had sensed when the statue rose from its marble slab was menacing and foreboding, something every demon feared, this power was not one to desire because the power she had sensed was like her.

A hunger to devour, but fiercer and more frightening than she had ever experienced.

She turned around to look at the door on the upper level but there was no movement. With a sigh of relief, she turned towards the side glass door and went outside into the garden.

At least she could escape that way.

There was something dark about the garden on this night that did not sit well with Anna. Usually she found this darkness familiar and comforting but today something malevolent lurked in the air. There was a fountain in the middle of the garden that depicted a man on his knees with a woman standing above, arm raised as if to strike. She had always liked the depiction; the owner of the mansion revered it and would sometimes stare at it for hours on end.

She must know about her statue coming to life.

She turned and stopped dead.

"Dante you startled me," She said, regaining her composure.

Something wasn't right; that ominous power was there again.

And Dante's hair was not that long.

"My sincerest apologies," said Vergil, in his rich regal tone, "Your departure was so sudden I didn't catch your name."

It dawned on Anna; this was what moments ago was the supposed statue of Sparda. They had been foolish.

It was his son.

Vergil stared at her impassively, his arms behind his back. She was terrified of him and he knew it.

They always are.

"I must be dreaming, Dark Slayer," said Anna, dazed by the half demon standing before her. "The sisterhood of the succubus scoured both this world and the circles of hell for your essence; you are not of the two worlds."

"You fear me because of that?" asked Vergil.

"No, Dark Slayer, I revere you," replied Anna, her fascination slowly overcoming her fear, but she dared not to move closer to him.

"Then do me a service and tell my brother to retrieve my weapon from the child he so foolishly bequeathed it to, or I shall do so myself," said Vergil, turning around and walking back into the mansion without another word.

Anna bowed slightly at his retreating figure with a shudder, this time not necessarily in fear.

"I am yours to do with as you please, Dark Slayer."

...Cain slowly regained consciousness…


	7. Mission 7: Project ADAM

Mission 7: Project A.D.A.M

"Gather the advanced demonic assault mercenaries"

Cain slowly sat up and propped his back up against a tree, safe to say he was more than a bit dazed by the power that surged through him.

That thing was fierce, and within it bellied power he had never sensed before. But what really bothered him was the fact that that power had one purpose.

To acquire more

'Lucky the blade was a phantom,' he thought, eyeing the real Yamato on the grass lying a few feet from him, and farther away was Nero.

Nero!

Cain scrambled up and made his way towards the motionless figure on the ground. Nero looked deathly pale and his right arm, the Devil Bringer, was still as dead looking as ever.

"Come on bro, you have to wake up," said Cain, lightly shaking him to get a response but Nero was still out cold.

Cain stood up and placed his gauntlet encased right arm above Nero's head.

The gauntlet shone and Cain sighed with relief.

'At least he is still alive,' he thought, but then stopped as a putrid smell permeated the air.

"That one belongs with us dearie, his time is up," rasped a sickly sing-song voice behind him. For some reason a sense of foreboding gripped him and Cain actually dreaded what he would face when he turned around. Steeling himself, he turned.

He wished he didn't.

A stunted figure that seemed to stagger with age was leaning on a staff and looking at him. Its face was hidden beneath a hood made of something which struck Cain as oddly familiar.

With horror, he understood what the garment of the being was; there was the telltale of a nose there, hollow where the eyes and mouth should have been, and there were several.

It was wearing a hooded robe made of human faces. And the staff being held by the grimy earth coloured and dead looking hand, seemed to be made of hardened flesh.

Cain did not want to think of what flesh that was.

"Oh my, did I startle you, young one?" said the figure shakily as it started hobbling towards Cain.

"No, just have an aversion to old broads," replied Cain humourlessly, eyeing his sword Aclima some distance away, wondering if he could get to it before this 'thing' got to him first.

Something told him it wouldn't be wise to try.

The figure laughed a hoarse tinkling laugh.

"Children this day, No manners at all," it said, stopping and clutching its staff in both hands, raising it a bit. "Only my own children are well behaved."

Saying that, it struck the ground with the base of the staff, for a moment Cain thought it didn't work.

Then the ground started bubbling and slowly started breaking up all around the figure as demonic looking corpses clawed their way out.

There were many but all had the same haunted-scream look on their eyeless faces and they seemed to pulsate with a fiery like liquid.

"Putrids, just my luck," said Cain, assuming a fighting stance.

"Go, my children, bring me the one with the cursed arm, and tear that one to shreds!" said the figure with a shriek.

The Putrids started ambling disjointedly towards Cain, arms outstretched without a sound, the haunted look still on their faces.

Cain vaulted over the first one and his hands made contact with Yamato's sheath. Without thinking, he picked it up and unsheathed it, slashing the Putrid following the first one in half.

"Hmm, not bad at all," said Cain, spinning the blade in a circle before sheathing it back as the rest of the Putrids surrounded him.

"Showtime," said Cain, picking up Aclima from the ground, dropping Yamato.

He slashed the first Putrid that got to him twice and kicked him away, then back flipped off the second after delivering a high jump kick to its head. He turned in the air, whipping out his gun, and shot the next one leaping at him.

Landing on the ground, the other Putrids advanced towards him soundlessly, stepping over the others he had taken out; these ones slowly dissolved and got absorbed by the ground.

But he was ready.

He raised Aclima in a stance but then fell on one knee, letting go of the blade.

'That phantom has done a real number on me,' he thought as the remaining Putrids pounced on him, securely holding him down.

Their smell was atrocious.

"My my, you certainly are an ill behaved one dear. Meadah will teach you some manners though," said the flesh clothed figure, hobbling towards the centre of the clearing where a struggling Cain was being held down.

"I do not roll that way, you prehistoric hag," said a struggling Cain, glaring at Meadah as it started pulling back its hood.

Cain gasped.

Its face was a skull made of rotten flesh and thousands of slimy worms writhed around on top of its head, falling around. The eyes were lidless, giving it a bizarre surprised look, and the mouth was pulled back to its jaw in maniacal smile, giving it the outlook of an amused but grotesque mummy.

"You are a handsome one child, I shall enjoy devouring you," said Meadah, moving closer and bringing its staff to Cain's chest.

There was a twang and Meadah was thrown back. It burst into dust, only to reassemble inches away from the arrow that had pierced it right between the eyes.

"If anyone gets to torture that pretty boy," said a figure, dropping from a tree and setting another arrow that shimmered an ice blue on her silver bow. "It will be me."

She was clad in short black combat boots and black tight fitting leather jeans that accentuated her lower curves. A black half top exposed her perfectly toned stomach, and a blue sash across the top that held an arrow quivered behind her.

She had slanting eyes like most Asians, a small mouth and straight black hair that had blue highlights in front.

Cain broke free of the Putrids and knocked them back into a heap with an upside down helicopter kick. Somersaulting, he whipped out his gun and shot the heap of undead demons, making them burst into soil and maggots.

"Was beginning to think you'd never show up, Kyun," said Cain, landing beside her.

"Got ambushed, Fausts," replied Kyun, handing him a star shaped green crystal which he pressed to his chest, where it glowed briefly before disappearing.

A scream of rage brought their attention back to Meadah. It seemed to be absorbing the destroyed Putrids and it was growing more and more grotesque and misshapen by the minute.

"I swear they are getting uglier every time," said a brunette, making her way through the bushes. She was dressed the same way as Kyun was, except she was decked out in forest green with a black sash across her slightly revealing half top. The sash held a pointed lance with a spiralling leaf design.

"No, it's just you, Krista," said a blonde haired, blue eyed figure, dressed exactly like Cain but wearing a red jacket emblazed with the same symbol in fiery orange, "always the ponytail princess."

"Aww, is she your type, Caleb?" shot back Krista sarcastically, causing Cain and Kyun to snort with laughter.

Meadah roared and they all looked its way.

Caleb unclipped a long sword from behind him and joined the others as Krista unhooked her spear.

"We always have to do the dirty work," said Cain.

"Ready guys?"

They looked at each other then faced the demon, weapons ready.

"Locked and loaded."

Caleb and Cain where in front; they clashed their swords together saying "Tag" and simultaneously slashed Meadah, moving away as it brought down it's over sized now claw-like hands to gouge them.

Krista parried the hands and stabbed it in the midriff. Spinning her spear in a downward spiral, she knocked Meadahs legs from below it, and Kyun jumped over her and shot four arrows at it, impaling its arms and legs.

The three regrouped a distance away from Meadah, weapons ready as it thrashed about.

"Embarrassing, to be defeated by humans!" screamed Meadah, straining against the arrows holding it

"That lines seriously getting old…" said Caleb,

There was a flash of silver.

Cain appeared above it with his right arm outstretched; he was holding an orb like bottle that contained silver liquid. Meadah immediately recognized the contents of the bottle.

Holy Water.

The scream bubbling in its throat was cut short as Cain shoved the bottle in its mouth then somersaulted away; he seemed to slow down midair as he pulled out his silver desert eagle and shot the bottle.

Meadah glowed brilliantly. By the time Cain landed, there was nothing left of the un-dead demon. The holy water had done its job.

He joined the others kneeling around Nero. Krista removed an orb that was shining with a bright golden light and pushed it into Nero's chest where it dissolved.

Wordlessly, Caleb pulled down Nero's sleeve, concealing the devil bringer.

"He's not doing too well," said Krista, looking up.

"Yeah that thing must have done a real number on him," said Caleb, standing up and joining Cain.

"Cain, what happened?" asked Kyun, putting a hand on his shoulder, "It wasn't that thing was it? Something far stronger was here, I can I feel it."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure what it was exactly." said Cain, he had a feeling he knew what was going on but he had to relay his suspicions to someone.

"You guys take him back to headquarters and put him in CRISYS, whatever did this will be coming after this next," said Cain, walking over and picking up Yamato.

"That's not what I think it is, right?" asked Krista, standing up and taking a closer look.

"I was as amazed as you are when he showed it to me." replied Cain, holding out the sheathed katana for the others to look at.

"The blade that separated the human world from the demon world… Awesome," said Caleb, walking closer to get a better look. Only Kyun kept her distance from the blade, eyeing it with what could be described as fear and loathing. Cain noticed this and looked at her questioningly, but she only shook her head and mouthed "Not now" to him. "I'll get the car ready," she said, walking out of the clearing.

"And I will carry the load," said Caleb, hoisting up Nero and slinging his arm around his shoulder. He moved out of the clearing with Nero quite effortlessly as if Nero was weightless.

Cain looked over the mountainside down the cemetery again, thinking about the image he saw before.

"You had another one, didn't you?" asked Krista, lacing her hand with his as they stood side by side looking at the cemetery. "Promise to show me?" she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"The next time we have a time to ourselves," promised Cain, his face lighting up with a smile as he turned to face her. She smiled back and moved her face closer to his…

"Oh, by all means, smooch," said Caleb in an offhanded tone that didn't do well to hide his barely suppressed laughter, "We are nothing but shrubbery after all," he said, turning to Kyun and winking, who laughed as Cain and Krista abruptly fell apart.

Krista went bright red and hurriedly kissed Cain on the cheek, casting a defiant look at her brother who was laughing, before unhooking her spear and giving chase; Caleb raised his hands in mock horror and ran out of the clearing with Krista in tow.

"Siblings, they never grow up," said Kyun, still keeping her distance from Cain, "be careful with that blade," she said, "it cannot be controlled and it only brings pain to those who try."

Cain looked at Kyun for a moment, then slowly nodded in understanding; she would tell him when the time was right.

He turned around and pulled down his hood.

"Where are you taking it by the way?" asked Kyun.

Cain looked up at the moon for a moment, then looked down and faced her. "Devil May Cry."

Dante stood outside Devil May Cry, thinking…


	8. Mission 8: Sinister Concerto

Mission 8: Sinister Concerto

"Hail the music of the Shadow Knight's return"

Dante wondered for the millionth time how a perfectly normal day like this had taken such a drastic turn. This was how those days always started, a perfectly peaceful moment where he was being lazy in the office and all was good, then something always comes up to ruin it, be it a demon ambush (even though he enjoyed those, continuously damaging his office was starting to get really old) or a revelation like Trish's a couple of hours ago. Sure he had some touchy feely issues about his family but that was all in the past, he had to let it go and stop dwelling on it but no… now something burst into his office and stole one half of the perfect amulet. Dante wondered if someone out there was just messing with him to test his new resolve.

"Heh… Things always have to be complicated," said Dante, sitting down on the steps leading to the newly repaired doors of Devil May Cry. Fast murmuring voices told him that Lady and Trish were bickering again.

A white cat wandered over from the corner of the sidewalk, sniffing at random things as it unknowingly made its way towards the steps where Dante was sitting. Dante watched the cat as it pawed at a piece of paper then smiled as it jumped back in surprise when the paper dislodged and flew away. He momentarily wished he was just a cat - at least the only thing he had to battle was a piece of paper. As if the cat sensed Dante watching, it looked up and their eyes met. The cat cocked its head sideways, looking at Dante with a strange look that made it look as if it was smiling weirdly. Dante put out his hand and made a swishing noise while rubbing his thumb against his fore finger to lure the cat closer. The cat ran over to him.

"Hey fella, what's your name?" asked Dante, stroking its head as it made purring noises. The cat leaped up to the steps and sat on its haunches beside Dante, looking at the road expectantly.

"Waiting for someone?" asked Dante, looking at the road too. He had long learned that nothing normal seemed to be around him.

The cat looked back at Dante with the same tilted weird smiley face.

"Not quite the everyday tom," said Dante, ruffling the cats head.

"Not really, but I question the folly of speaking to a cat."

Dante looked up to see Cain standing a distance away.

The cat ran over to Cain and arched its back against his leg; Cain knelt down and patted its head with his gauntlet. The cat glowed and vanished into the gauntlet.

"A necromancer, haven't seen one in forever," said Dante, standing up.

"The Succubus breed developed quite a taste for our souls," replied Cain, walking over and holding out Yamato. "I believe this belongs to you?"

"Lately I don't know who owns that sword. What happened to the kid?" asked Dante, taking the sword; Cain was surprised at how easily Dante trusted him.

"Trish trusts you, it's good enough for me," said Dante, answering the unasked question etched within the quizzical look on Cain's face.

"It seems without your help the façade in Fortuna would have been a bigger pain," said Dante, holding out his hand.

"It was a good party," said Cain, smiling as he shook Dante's hand.

Just then the door to Devil May Cry opened and Trish came out with Lady following behind. Cain smiled at Trish and then frowned with recognition as he saw Lady.

"Hello, stalker," said Cain slyly, quirking an eyebrow at the surprised look on Lady's face.

Lady cast a confused look in Trish and Dante's direction. "You know each other?" asked Lady, surprised at this new bit of information.

"This is Cain, he helped me infiltrate Fortuna when I was in disguise there as Gloria," said Trish as she joined Dante and Cain, leaving an unsure Lady at the door.

"And Cain, this is Lady; an angry gun slinging woman with a taste for demon blood," said Dante, laughing as Lady gave him a 'bite me' sort of look.

"Don't you find it a little bit ironic then, that you hang out with a devil?" said Cain, holding out his hand as Lady made her way down to the stairs.

Lady hesitated, eyeing the gauntlet that encased his hand.

"I won't bite," said Cain with a wink.

"Weren't your eyes black?" asked Lady as she finally joined them.

"Don't you ask too many questions?" replied Cain, causing Lady to blush bright crimson but before she could retort, a sleek silver AUDI R8 drove to a stop on the sidewalk in front of the shop. and A man with brown hair that fell over the side of his face got out and waved to the group.

"Guess you're off already Lady. Leon's here," said Dante, waving back.

"Why haven't you introduced me?" asked Trish, giving Leon a look that made him blush even though he was far.

"Duh would be an understatement," replied Lady giving Trish a quick hug, "As odd as this sounds I will miss our fights," said Lady.

"Same here, see you when you get back," said Trish, who grabbed Cain's hand as he said a hasty 'see you' to Lady, who smiled back as Trish dragged him into the shop.

Dante opened his arms for a hug, but was punched in the shoulder by Lady.

"I will miss you too," said Dante, rubbing his shoulder. Lady gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and quickly walked away towards a waiting Leon, and got into the car before Dante could react.

"Bring me back a big demon head from Africa," said Dante, waving as the car did a three point turn and drove off. Dante watched the road for a moment, then turned around and went back into Devil May Cry.

Anna walked hurriedly through the long corridor, barely sparing a glance at the paintings that flanked her on both sides. She knew all of the paintings by heart; she had stared at some of them for so long she knew every stroke by heart, while barely giving others a glance. They were all demonic works done by the crazed denizens of Temeni Gru at the time the tower was at its most powerful. The atrocities they depicted made her wonder how their owner managed to not only survive that time, but salvage these priceless works.

Then again, Vampires were quite a resilient bunch.

She often wondered why the vampire in question would settle for this church as her home instead of the lush mansion back in the city. Aside from the mere fact that the church wasn't an ideal vacation destination for the un-dead, riches were not a problem for this vampire in particular. She could have the mansion in top condition in barely a month.

Then again, a priestess rarely leaves her place of worship.

The church had undergone a lot of renovations through time, resembling a futuristic pavilion with quite an impressive artwork decked corridor even the Louvre would be jealous of. Anna still found it hard to believe that this place had existed for 2000 years.

She entered the main hall of the church and walked past the pews towards the slightly elevated balcony, where a woman sat on the railing with the most relaxed expression on her face. Her skin looked so pale Anna used to wonder sometimes if she wasn't a statue herself, but when she moved it was with such fluidity that it made water dripping off an ice cube look rigid and stilting. Over the years her beauty had increased exponentially, and despite Anna being breathtakingly beautiful herself, she felt quite plain whenever she stood before her. She wore a transparent silk gown over alluring black undergarments that left little to the imagination. Anna knew her tempting body must have spelled doom for many a man and demon alike that couldn't resist her physical charms. A little shiver ran through Anna as the woman brushed back her wet looking long black hair and offered her a smile.

"Lady Diaz," said Anna with a little bow.

"My child, it warms my cold heart seeing you alive and well," said the woman, her hypnotic green eyes making Anna lightheaded whenever they locked eyes, "It seems you encountered both children of Sparda this night," she said, surprising Anna. "I believe it must have been quite a fright to see the rebirth of the Dark Angel, but it was bound to happen sooner or later."

Anna blushed slightly, how did the she know? "It was a surprise, but your orders have been fulfilled, except for an unforeseen calculation," said Anna, sitting down on the pew-like balcony's edge and resting her head against Lady Diaz' perfect legs. "Vergil wants, no, _demands_ his sword back."

"Of course, the only thing that holds meaning to his dark heart," said Lady Diaz, her voice betraying a hint of sadness, then looked down at Anna whose upturned face reflected the same emotion.

"You have fallen for someone who brings nothing but pain my child," said Lady Diaz, stroking Anna's hair, "but perhaps it is a match made in hell, literally," she said, making Anna blush deeper.

Anna smiled, this was exactly what she wanted to hear. "One cannot help ones nature, but he will want what you offer Dante, perhaps even more than the swords master would"

"That is true, but this is to our advantage as well," said Lady Diaz, smiling at the surprised look on Anna's face. "Bring them to me, you know how it can be done," she said. Anna nodded and stood up to go.

"For two thousand years I never thought I would see blood throb in the heart of a succubus," said Lady Diaz, giving Anna a calculated stare that made her blush again, "But then again, like their father they carry a distinctive charm," she finished.

"It would appear your heart has started beating Anna, but still I must warn you against loving him. Only one woman has a place in his heart," she said.

Anna understood the warning, she was not forbidden so she could try. "You are as caring as you are wise, my lady," said Anna with a radiant look that made Lady Diaz soften a bit.

"Perhaps you can rescue each other from the darkness that clouds you both," she said. Anna nodded and bowed slightly before she turned and disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

Lady Diaz leaned against the pillar of the balcony structure she was sitting on and closed her eyes.

"She is a good if not misguided child, Catalina, encouraging her to follow her heart will only bring her pain… and worse," said a figure, stepping out from behind the darkness behind the Throne like chair that was on the balcony. He was dressed entirely in black; knee length combat boots and pants with an armoured bat-like riding cloak over a long sleeved top with a high neck, that served as a mask covering the bottom half of his face. His left eye glowed red behind a futuristic looking eye patch that looked more like a single lens of stylish dark glasses, though it was slightly obscured by his shoulder length curly silver blond hair, while his other eye was electric blue.

He held the hilt of a Japanese style two-handed broad sword between his hands. He stood beside Lady Diaz with a questioning look that bordered on becoming accusing.

"Zachary, my dear, you have known me for what, two thousand years now? You should know by now that I am never wrong," said Lady Diaz with a twinkle in her eye. "Take it this way, if it works out that insolent youth Cain won't have to kill her when she eventually attacks him for his soul, and the other future we have foreseen won't come to pass," said Lady Diaz, standing up and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Zachary turned away and she let go.

"Sparda's soldier to the end, aren't you?" she said with a sigh, walking back to the railing she vacated moments ago. Zachary joined her side. "My apologies for doubting you Catalina, I look forward to the finale of this saga".

"The Order intended for Cain to be the last addition to the Saviour's design, with the Quick Silver and Necromancer styles at hand combined with the blood of Sparda, it would have been a lot more difficult to handle," Trish told Dante, who was sitting on the edge of his table while Cain was staring at the various demon heads on the wall. "Sanctus didn't count on me helping and well…"

"I went nuts and took out the rest of the orders' army," said Cain, turning around and walking back to the other two.

"That's why they needed the Angelo fragments to create a new breed of stronger and faster soldiers," said Trish.

"But you where there again today," said Dante, looking up at Cain.

Cain raised a questioning eyebrow at this, surprised how Dante knew of his whereabouts but dismissed it.

"Yes, to retrieve an artefact for a prestigious client. I did succeed but then I met Nero and…" said Cain and he proceeded to explain what took place at the cliff side above the cemetery.

"I had no idea the Radix Eterna contained the core of the Angelo fragments," said Cain, who's wandering eyes rested on a set of shining gauntlets and greaves by the bar. "Impressive. The rumours of your devil arm collection are not exaggerated," said Cain, examining Beowulf closely.

Dante wondered where Cain would have heard about his devil arms, and also how Cain's accent was a bit funny but dismissed both thoughts.

"They are my second favourite and only remaining of the two alternate devil arms I have," said Dante, walking over and standing next to Cain.

"The purple guitar is mine," said Trish, walking over and picking up Nevan. The guitar momentarily flashed purple, then slowly charged up and turned golden. Trish slung it across her back and clipped the Force Edge to her waist.

"Its suits you nicely," said Cain, smiling at Trish. He always found it surprising how easily she turned him into a blushing mess with only a look.

"We better get going then. A.D.A.M. headquarters isn't far away and there is someone I would like you to meet, Dante," said Cain. Dante picked up Ebony and Ivory from the table, then clipped Rebellion to his back.

"She said to ask if your two friends still work fine," said Cain and Dante paused momentarily. It was too much to hope but perhaps, just perhaps the rumours were true…

"I was going to search for a certain man eater but hey, I got some time to kill," said Dante nonchalantly, walking to the door and opening it.

They all stepped outside.

"When did it get so dark?" asked Trish, looking around.

That was when the music started.

Dante could faintly recall the Organ music from a memory that he could not quite grasp. It started with dark and foreboding opening notes that proceeded to rise to a crescendo as the sky above was illuminated by blue flashes.

"The phantom of the opera must be in town," said Dante, looking up at the sky where the numerous zigzagging blue streaks had formed into a straight line as the music went low again.

"And he brought friends," said Trish. The music seemed to be controlling the movement of the blue flashes; like soldiers they seemed to be going by the music's cue. With a final flourish of the Organ, the lights went rigid and shot into town towards a particular point out of view. Three remained and shot to where Dante, Trish and Cain where standing.

An Alto Angelo descended, flanked by a pair of Bianco Angelo, their visor gleaming with a dark blue demonic sheen that seemed to pulsate all over their armour.

"I thought they all perished after the saviour was beaten," said Trish as they hovered above, slightly obscured by the darkness. There seemed to be something riding on the Alto Angelo's shoulder.

It dawned on Cain and he said, "They were made from the Dark Angels fragments, their resurrection must only mean…"

"He's not so dead anymore," said Dante as the three Angelos finally came into view, and the three where surprised at the sight of Anna sitting side saddle on the Alto Angelo's shoulder.

"I can already tell. He has no taste," said an unsmiling Cain, whipping out his gun as Trish did the same, pointing Luce and Ombra at the Biancos while Cain kept a dead aim at the Altos chest plate.

Only Dante seemed undisturbed by their appearance, "Didn't your mother ever tell you geeks were creepy?" asked Dante, folding his hands.

"I like it geeky, hello Cain," replied Anna, jumping off the Alto and facing them.

"Miss Darvulia," replied Cain, holstering his gun, "If you are not here for my soul as usual, what do you want?" asked Cain as Trish holstered her guns as well.

"That," said Anna as a sheathed Yamato flashed into Dante's left hand.

"You took the golden half of the amulet then?" asked Trish.

"She is just a messenger," said Dante, walking over and standing face to face with Anna.

"He is just using you. Get away from him before you get hurt," said Dante. Anna was taken aback by the sympathy in his voice momentarily, but that surprise quickly turned into anger.

"You know where to find him," said Anna coldly and disappeared in her usual puff of black smoke.

The Alto Angelo raised its hand and the Bianco disappeared and reappeared above the Alto on each side, forming an upside down triangle.

It glowed so bright so fast that Cain and Trish had to cover their eyes as the ground started vibrating. Cain was aware of a flash of cyan blue, then a concentration of dark energy around a red source with a yellow core coming from Dante, but he was blinded and disorientated by a boom as a green ball of energy flew at them with rapid speed. It bounced back at the Angelos as it hit Dante and blew them into several pieces.

The light cleared and Cain helped Trish up, then he took a proper look at Dante. He was encased in dark regal armour with a cape that shone black and red, the visor glowed alternately with red and yellow as he turned to look at Cain. Cain recognized the demon as Dante reverted back to his normal form.

"What was that?" asked Trish and picked up a piece of the Angelo armour as it evaporated in a dark blue mist.

"The invitation, and oh, my brother's alive as well," said Dante, and for the first time since the white cat, he was not smiling.

Nero was recovering slowly in CRISYS.


End file.
